Growing Your Hibiscus Cuttings...an e-mail from Tom Miller

Here's the rooting guidance from Chris Noble's presentation at the AmHS convention a few years ago. Many successful commercial growers have their own ways of doing things that may be different, but you may still find this useful.

Use a mix of 3 parts perlite to one part peat or vermiculite as your rooting medium.

Moisten the mix and let it sit in pots a day before you insert the cuttings.

Take your cuttings by cutting below the node (eye). The cuttings should be about 6-10" in length. Remove the node, but leave all the surrounding area because it contains hormones (auxins). Nick once at lower end of each cutting and store them in a bucket with a wet towelover it for two days at about 76° F. You don't want the wood to dry out, but you want the areas you have cut to seal. Don't get cuttings wet.

Leave 3 mature leaves on the cuttings, but leave only 1/3 to 1/2 of each leaf because that's a place where the plant has stored energy.

Insert the cuttings into the rooting medium, but don't water for 3 to 7 days.

50-80% sun is okay, but sun is not too important, 85-95% humidity and about 76° F and some varieties may root in 20 days. Higher or lower temperatures will cause the process to take longer.